Brain training game may help smokers kick the habit
NCT ID NCT02481752
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether a simple computer task, called the Approach Avoidance Task (AAT), could help smokers quit. The task aims to change automatic, unconscious thoughts that make people want to smoke. 52 daily smokers who wanted to quit took part. Researchers measured changes in reaction times and quit-related factors like motivation and number of smoke-free days.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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52 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Jul 2015
- Finished
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Mar 2016
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Male and female patients ages 18-65 capable of providing informed consent * Willing and able to provide informed consent, attend all study visits, and comply with the protocol * Daily smoker for at least 6 months * Currently smoke an average of at least 8 cigarettes per day * Report a motivation to quit smoking of at least 5 on a 10-point scale * Interest in making a serious quit attempt within the next month (without professional assistance or nicotine therapy) * Have not decreased their number of cigarettes by more than half in the last six months Exclusion Criteria: * Visual or hand-motoric impairments * Current use of nicotine replacement therapy * Current use of tobacco products other than cigarettes * Insufficient command of the English language
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, 78712, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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